


A Strawberry Among Thorns

by mini_cutie



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Delinquent Karasuno, M/M, Nerd Tsukishima Kei, Nerd Yachi Hitoka, Nerd Yamaguchi Tadashi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, delinquent au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 14:09:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17367305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mini_cutie/pseuds/mini_cutie
Summary: It had all started with Sawamura Daichi and, to be honest, the biggest problem wasn’t that Tsukishima Kei hated the situation he was in. The biggest problem was that he was growing to love it.(Tsukishima Kei, the biggest nerd of Karasuno High School, gets heckled into tutoring the whole of the Karasuno High School gang, a group of delinquents that really don't want to have to repeat a school year.)





	1. i. Sawamura Daichi

**Author's Note:**

> i'm in a huge writers block but i didn't want to not update anything so im just like... posting :))) things that were already written since like a long time ago :))) please just take it while i suffer this mental block

Tsukishima Kei couldn’t remember exactly how he got into the situation he was in.

He was like that sometimes. Though he liked to believe that he was a rather calm and logical person, sometimes he just got into situations he never even thought he could get into.

See, at Karasuno High School, Tsukishima was known as one of the smartest kids in his grade. His two best friends, Yamaguchi Tadashi and Yachi Hitoka were pretty much just as smart. In a high school located in a pretty bad part of town, it wasn’t hard.

Most kids usually didn’t care enough to try at all. A lot of the students in Karasuno were more concerned with gangs and fighting or smoking weed and playing video games. They were high schoolers who would rather have fun than study.

Tsukishima and his friends were different. Though, really, that was no surprise. They had their reasons after all.

Like Yamaguchi for example. He was from a poor family and his parents didn’t get enough education to get good jobs. Even with that, they still gave Yamaguchi a great childhood. Yamaguchi loved his family more than anything and, so, to repay them for taking care of him, he wanted to do the things they couldn’t do and make them proud.

Yachi, on the other hand, had an overbearing mother that didn’t want Yachi to repeat her father’s mistakes. Apparently, her mother had fallen in love with her father but her father was a gambler. He was a nice man, of course, but his old habits wouldn’t die. It cost his family a great deal and it took a lot out of Yachi’s mom to kick him out.

Then, of course, there was Tsukishima’s reasons. His was more of a mix between Yachi’s and Yamaguchi’s. He wanted to make his mother proud too and, after his father had left, it was hard for her. She constantly had to worry about both Tsukishima and his brother. But making her proud wasn’t an easy task or, at least, it wasn’t for Tsukishima. It didn’t help that Tsukishima had to live under his older brother’s shadow either.

Which wasn’t to say that Tsukishima’s older brother, Akiteru, was a good kid. In fact, it was the opposite. He  _ had _ been a good kid but he was led astray. Now, it almost felt like their mom could never see past Akiteru’s mistakes. Because of that, Tsukishima was drowned out by his brother’s shadow. Instead of venturing out, he lived his life afraid of becoming what his brother became.

Their reasons for being smart, of course, were irrelevant to Tsukishima’s dilemma, however. In fact, surprisingly enough, his dilemma arose despite his backstory.

To get straight to the point, the situation Tsukishima got into was that he was suddenly the tutor for a whole lot of gang members.

That was why it was so surprising. You’d think that, after living his entire life controlled by his brother’s choices, Tsukishima would avoid this specific type of situation. It wasn’t good to be seen around gang members and Tsukishima’s biggest fear was that he’d become them if he hung out with them too much.

Yet, there he was, the tutor to not only one gang but to a handful.

Thinking about it now, he supposed that it probably started with Sawamura Daichi, the leader of the gang that presided over Karasuno High School, the very same high school Tsukishima attended.

\--

It had happened suddenly one day. Sometimes things happened to Tsukishima like that. It happened more often than he would've liked.

Sawamura had just approached him without warning, white unbuttoned shirt wrinkly, revealing the black tank top underneath. He wore his dress pants low and chains looped around some of his belt buckles. He was as punk as they came.

The thing about Sawamura, though, and the thing that made him so infamous, was that he had one of the friendliest smiles in all of Miyagi prefecture. If it hadn’t been for his sloppy clothes, he would’ve easily been mistaken for a good model student.

“I need you to tutor me and my friends.” Sawamura had stated so simply, in a voice so kind, that Tsukishima almost forgot he was a literal gang leader.

However, Tsukishima was quickly reminded by the dark look in Sawamura’s eyes. His kind smile didn’t exactly reach up to his eyes. In fact, his gaze was chilling and stood out almost intimidatingly. It was something Tsukishima expected from someone who led a band of delinquents.

“And why exactly are you asking me, Sawamura-senpai?” Tsukishima removed his earbud so that he could better hear what Sawamura was saying. He wasn’t exactly taking Sawamura seriously but he had to at least show respect or else he’d probably get beat up.

Tsukishima was tall for his age, yes, but he was lanky and held no muscle at all. He could barely lift two gallons of milk at once. He was taller than Sawamura but Sawamura could, without a doubt, knock him right off his feet. 

“Well, I would’ve asked your friends. They’re known to be much nicer than you, Tsukishima-san.” Sawamura nodded in understanding before sighing “Except, when they see me coming, they run in the opposite direction.”

Tsukishima laughed almost bitingly at that, as if mocking the gang leader, his voice dripping with sarcasm “What a surprise.”

“Listen, I know we aren’t exactly model students, Tsukishima-san, but the last thing I want is for any of us to repeat a grade.” Sawamura seemed a little irritated by Tsukishima’s standoffish personality and his almost mocking expression but Sawamura managed to hide it under his friendly yet fake smile. “It’s just until the end of the year.”

“ _ ‘Just until the end of the year _ ’, Sawamura-senpai? The year just began a month ago. You want me to tutor all of you all year?” Tsukishima scoffed, rolling his eyes “I get that all of you want to improve your grades but I’m not a charity, senpai. I don’t see how I could ever benefit from this.”

Sawamura pretended to look thoughtful for a second (it was obviously fake) before firmly nodding “Well, you know, you are a target of bullying, aren’t you? You and your friends?” 

There was a momentary silence between the two of them as Tsukishima took in the delinquent’s words.

“Are you threatening us?” Tsukishima couldn’t help but be surprised, eyebrows knitting together in anger as if indignant. It took a lot of gall to threaten someone you needed a favour from. Though, if anyone could do it, surely it would be Sawamura, the leader of a gang.

In any case, Sawamura laughed at Tsukishima’s words and it irritated Tsukishima how much his laugh sounded similar to Tsukishima’s own only minutes ago “Of course not.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you but you don’t exactly have a spotless track record.” Tsukishima replied smoothly though his words were biting and almost angry. 

Tsukishima rarely cared whether or not people insulted him or threatened him. It was easy to be level headed when that happened. Sometimes, however, people figured that out.  _ Sometimes _ , people find out that the way to really get a rise out of Tsukishima was to target his friends. He never put up a fuss when it was him or really anyone else but, when it came to his friends, it was a completely different story.

It was rare for people to get past Tsukishima’s sarcastic rough exterior. It took effort and perseverance, even for his brother and his mother. So, of course, when people like Yamaguchi and Yachi managed to do just that, it was hard for Tsukishima not to be a little overprotective.

Sawamura looked amused at that, the traces of his irritation at Tsukishima’s arrogance gone with the wind. It made something boil under Tsukishima’s skin.

“I’m just saying that I know people take potshots at the three of you a lot because you guys don’t exactly fight back much.” Sawamura explained plainly, that infuriating smile never leaving his face once and his eyes were still that dark gaze “I’m  _ also _ just saying that, if you help us, we help you.”

Tsukishima thought about it for a second. It was true that they were the targets of harassment at the school. It was less him than it was Yamaguchi and Yachi, though. 

Most of the time, people couldn't get Tsukishima to really fight back. He was cool, almost indifferent. Other times, people did figure out how to get a rise out of him, as he had previously stated, but getting a rise out of him never resulted in anything good.

It was a dog-eat-dog world out there in the dingy halls of Karasuno High School. People who didn't defend themselves, which was rare, got targeted. Tsukishima was good at defending himself though not entirely because he had that much self confidence. It was more like he always wanted to be left alone and, if he said a few harsh words or sarcastic quips, he was almost always left alone.

Yamaguchi and Yachi were a couple of examples of people who almost never defended themselves. They were good at defending each other (and defending Tsukishima despite not needing to). The two of them were kind and took a stand when they thought someone was doing something wrong. 

The problem was that they were extremely bad at defending themselves. Sure, Yamaguchi spoke up when it happened to Yachi and vice versa but, when they were approached alone, it was a different matter altogether. Both of them preferred to keep quiet when it came to that kind of thing. They never wanted to make a scene for their own sake.

With all of that taken under consideration, Tsukishima finally give a curt nod before waving his hand as if to send Sawamura away. Though it took everything in him, Tsukishima tried his best to look nonchalant instead of annoyed “I suppose. I’ll meet you at the library after school today, no excuses.”

“If I’m going to help you, I want it on my terms.” Tsukishima added quickly before slipping back his headphone and directing his gaze to the window right next to him.

He couldn’t see Sawamura’s expression but he hoped it had been one of anger. Or at least irritation. In any case, the delinquent left abruptly, finally letting Tsukishima have the peace and quiet he wanted.

\--

Now that he looked back at that, Tsukishima could understand that it had been a slippery slope. He wouldn’t exactly call that encounter  _ befriending _ Sawamura but becoming one gang members  _ acquaintance _ definitely opened the door for others.


	2. ii. Tanaka Ryuunosuke

When Yamaguchi and Yachi had heard the news, they were absolutely aghast. They were mostly worried for Tsukishima's safety. Sometimes, Tsukishima got himself into weird sorts of situations like that and, like always, the two of them fretted. Tsukishima had blandly explained to them that he couldn’t bring himself to worry, though.

His philosophy was to judge people after he'd seen how they treated others. All Tsukishima knew about the Karasuno gang was that they got into fights a lot. He was never one to delve any deeper than that. 

It would go against his philosophy to judge them almost immediately. He was wary of the delinquents, that was for sure. It showed in how he interacted with Sawamura. But he couldn’t find it in himself to be scared. He didn't know them enough to really develop an accurate opinion.

For all he knew, they had good reasons to get into fights. Or, maybe, they hadn’t even started it to begin with. Tsukishima wasn’t going to pretend to know something he definitely didn’t know.

Though, in truth, he did have to repeatedly assure Yamaguchi and Yachi that he would leave the deal as soon as it went sour for him. If they were even remotely mean to him, he had the right to say no.

It made Tsukishima glad that he had overprotective friends. The overprotectiveness made it seem that they cared a lot about him and being cared for was something Tsukishima wasn’t used to getting from anyone other than his mother and his brother.

In any case, apparently all of them had no need to concerned. During that conversation with Yamaguchi and Yachi, two of Sawamura’s friends had been eavesdropping and they had overheard what Tsukishima had said.

Like how Sawamura had appeared out of nowhere, his friends came just as suddenly.

One second, Tsukishima was talking to an indignant Yamaguchi and a concerned Yachi. The next second, there was an arm wrapped around his neck and a weight on his shoulders.

“Oi, we thought you were a little shit, Tsukishima-san, but apparently you're not after all.” A grumbling voice spoke from next to him and, from the horrified look on Yachi’s face, Tsukishima could tell that whoever had suddenly butted in was a delinquent.

Glancing over, Tsukishima was quickly proven right. It was the infamous Tanaka Ryuunosuke with his shaved head and shark-like grin. He was known among the school to be the most intimidating one. Seeing his expression, Tsukishima could see why. It was hard to be intimidated by someone who liked to be called the Dragon Among Crows, though. Tsukishima simply thought the name was unnecessarily edgy and hilarious.

Wherever Tanaka was seen, so as Nishinoya Yuu. When Tsukishima looked to his other side, he was immediately proven right when he saw Nishinoya (or rather Nishinoya’s infamous spiky hair since the delinquent was much shorter than Tsukishima). Like Tanaka, he also wanted to be known by a cheesy and rather cringey nickname. Unlike Tanaka, Nishinoya had two. He was known as the Evening Sun of Karasuno as well as the Karasuno gang’s Guardian Deity.

Everyone just went with it in fear of being beat up. Tsukishima doubted they'd start an entire fight over something so lame but, then again, he didn't know them well enough to be able to say. 

In any case, the two of them were there. Tanaka had his arm around Tsukishima's shoulders and Nishinoya stood next to him, school jacket draped over one shoulder and his free hand in his pocket.

Tsukishima could already see Yamaguchi getting irritated “Hey, hands off of Tsukki.”

“Oh? Your friend's surprisingly feisty.” Tanaka turned his smug grin towards Yamaguchi.

Nishinoya laughed almost jovially, nodding “Yeah, it's good to see that you have at least some spirit in you, Yamaguchi-san.”

Tsukishima could see that Yamaguchi didn’t like having his request ignored. It looked like he was about to throw fists. So, of course, Tsukishima intervened.

“Tanaka-senpai, I understand that you have no perception of personal space and, though some people may allow you to, please refrain in touching me.” Tsukishima pushed Tanaka’s arm away as he attempted to keep a straight face “And Nishinoya-senpai, please don't try and start a fight with my best friend.”

Tsukishima, of course, promptly ignored the rather pleasantly shocked expressions on both delinquents’ faces and, instead, stepped forward, giving Yamaguchi a small smile.

Smoothly, Tsukishima opened his locker and pulled a pad of sticky notes out. With a sort of odd elegance, he grabbed a pen from the back of his locker and scribbled something down. Then, he pulled the sticky note off of the stack and handed it to Tanaka all in one move. 

The both of them continued to look surprised.

“To tutor all of you, I'll need to know what to tutor you on.” Tsukishima told them with an almost monotone voice, eyes flickering from Tanaka to Nishinoya “It would be great if all of you could write down what you’re having problems with.” 

“So you’re really taking this shit seriously?” Tanaka asked and Tsukishima had expected an irritated expression but, instead, Tanaka was grinning, sharp teeth and all, as if he was pleased by how seriously Tsukishima was taking Sawamura’s request.

Slowly, Tsukishima let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in and, instead of sounding angry, he let his tone convey a sort of subdued irritation “Of course I am. I’m just as serious about this as you are.”

Tanaka’s grin widened even more and Nishinoya stared up at Tsukishima as if Tsukishima had hung up the stars in the sky. It unnerved him a little. He hadn’t thought that taking Sawamura’s request seriously would gain this kind of reaction.

In fact, Tsukishima was getting more than a little unnerved, especially when he felt that the two were crowding into him a little.

“If  _ you’re _ not going to take me seriously, I won’t take tutoring you seriously.” Tsukishima elaborated, hand coming up to push Tanaka back a little as he tried to play off his sudden nervousness as more irritation “But, if you do, then you’re going to pass this grade no problem.”

Tanaka and Nishinoya got the message and the both of them seemed to calm themselves down. Still, there was that reverence in their expressions that really plucked at Tsukishima’s nerves. He didn’t know why but he didn’t like that look on their faces.

He didn’t like them thinking he was better than them.

Tsukishima always hated it when people put him on pedestals, when people  _ expected _ things of him. It made him feel trapped, like he had to act a certain way, had to say certain things. 

The last thing Tsukishima wanted was to have to act that way in front of a bunch of gang members that probably couldn’t care any less. 

That was a thought to be worried over later, though. Instead of dwelling on it, Tsukishima grabbed an empty notebook from his locker and flipped to the first page. With the pen he had used only minutes ago, Tsukishima scrawled ‘Things We Need To Go Over’ at the very top of the page.

Then, he capped the pen, pocketed it and shoved the notebook into Nishinoya’s arms.

“Oh and one more thing.” Tsukishima turned to his locker and grabbed a couple more things--namely what he needed for his next class--before giving both upperclassmen a level glare “Don’t try to goad my friends into fighting again or I’m never going to be able to take any of you seriously.”

With that, Tsukishima closed his locker and locked it. As soon as the lock clicked, the shrill bell signaling the next class rang and Tsukishima took one look at Tanaka and Nishinoya before turning and leaving with Yamaguchi and Yachi.

Thankfully, the two weren’t going anywhere near where Tsukishima’s next class was. Unlike Tsukishima, Yamaguchi and Yachi whose classroom as the smallest in their grade and also the smartest, Tanaka and Nishinoya were not only upperclassmen who went to classes a floor up but they were also pretty low when it came to school rankings.

If Tsukishima’s class (1-5) was the class for freshmen on the very top of the school rankings, Tanaka and Nishinoya’s class (2-2) was the class for sophomores that featured the students that ranked pretty low. Not the lowest, of course, but they were down there.

It made Tsukishima worry about exactly what he would need to teach them.

“I still think this is a bad idea.” Yamaguchi’s voice pulled Tsukishima out of his thoughts and the determined and worried expression on Yamaguchi’s face made his emotions pretty clear “I don’t want to seem mean and prejudiced but…”

“It’s okay, you’re not prejudiced, you have your reasons to believe this isn’t going to end well.” Tsukishima waved Yamaguchi’s thoughts away quickly, assuring tone to his words “But it’d be pretty terrible of me to deny them tutoring just because of rumors.”

Both Yachi and Yamaguchi nodded and the three settled into a comfortable silence full of anxiety and worrying about the future. Tsukishima himself worried about what he had worried about only a minute ago.

He just hoped he wasn’t taking on too much work trying to tutor these kids. He was a kid himself after all.

Quietly, Tsukishima cursed Sawamura Daichi for calling him out. He just hoped the school year would end quickly and uneventfully.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so so so much for reading! if you liked it, please leave a kudos and a comment about what you liked!!! or what you didn't like!!! ill try to update as soon as i can!!! if you want a say in what i update next, there's a poll up on my twitter @minikkukkungi!!! i also post about recent updates on my tumblr, @mini-ghost-writer


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